Method of and machine for operating upon the soles of boots or shoes



F. BERTRAND METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR OPERATING UPON THE SOLES 0F BOOTS OR SHOES File J n-2 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 18, 1930. F. E. BERTRAND METHOD 011 AND MACHINE FOR OPERATING UPON THE SOLES 0F BOOTS OR SHOES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 24, 1927 Patented Feb. 18, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FREDERIC E. BERTRAND, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB T0 UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR OPERATING UPON THE SOLES OF BOOTS OR SHOES Application filed January 24, 1927. Serial No. 163,105.

This invention relates to methods of and machines for operating upon the soles of boots or shoes. The invention is herein disclosed in connection with a machine for turning the lip and forming a stitclrreceiving groove in an outsole for a McKay-sewed shoe after the sole has been channeled and placed in position upon a shoe.

In the manufacture of McKay-sewed shoes it is customary to form a channel and to cut a stitch-receiving groove in the outsole before the outsole is attached to the shoe, the location of the groove being gaged from the edge of the sole. The sole is then manually laid upon a. lasted shoe, the operator being guided by his eye in locating the sole assisted by the tips of his fin ers which may be projected beyond the bottom of the shoe to engage the edge of the outsole. After the outsole has been temporarily secured in place the last is pulled and the shoe is presented to the McKay sewing machine which stitches the sole to the shoe, during which operation the shoe is guided by the feed point of the machine which projects into the sewing groove and positions the latter relatively to the needle so that the line of stitching will lie in the groove. Obviously, if the sole is not properly and accurately located relatively to the shoe when it is laid the groove will not be properly located relatively to the edge of the last bottom and consequently the line of stitching will not penetrate the upper and innersole at the desired localities with the result that the completed shoe will not retain the shape of the last.

In view of the foregoing, one object of the present invention is to insure that the stitch-receiving groove in the outsole for a McKaysewed shoe will be properly positioned relatively to the last upon which the shoe is to be made, irrespective of whether or not the outsole is properly and accurately positioned relatively to the shoe.

lVith this object in view the invention, in one aspect, consists in turning the channel lip to open the channel of a channeled sole attached to a shoe, setting the lip in turned position, and forming a stitch-receiving groove in the channeled portion of the sole in a location gaged from the contour of the shoe upper. As herein illustrated, means is provided for determining the location of the groove consisting of a gage roll arranged to enter the crease between the upper and the projecting margin of the outsole and shaped to support the portion of the sole margin which is to be operated upon and to engage the bulging portion of the upper in the vicinity of the crease. The illustrated grooveforrning means is carried by a feed foot which co-operates with the work supporting gage roll in the feeding of the Work and which also carries a lip-turning tool or plow for opening the channel and turning the channel lip ahead of the groove-forming tool. The feed foot is reciprocated and operates during its movements in one direction to advance the work step-by-step while, during the movements of the feed footin the opposite direction, the lip-turning and groove-formin tools perform their respective functions. 5 vertically reciprocating presser foot is employed in the illustrated machine to set the lip in its turned position and this presser foot also functions, whenin lip-setting position, to hold the work stationary between successive feed movements while the lipturning and groove-forming tools are operating. As illustrated also, the feed foot is mounted for tilting movement about axes extending both lengthwise and crosswise of the direction of work feed and intersecting at the point of operation of the groove-forming tool so that the feed foot may accommodate itself to variations in lengthwise and crosswise inclination or curvature of the sole margin without interfering with the operation of the lip-turning and groove-forming tools.

The invention further consists in features of construction and in the combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the head of a machine in which the present invention is incorporated i Fig. 2 is a view, in side elevation, of a portion of the head of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the lip-turning tool;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the feed foot, together with the grooving knife and the lipturning tool which are carried by the feed foot;

Fig. 5 is a conventional view illustrating the manner in which the feed foot accommodates itselfto variations in the pitch of the sole margin;

Fig. 6 is a detail view showing particularly the means for adjusting the edge gage roll to vary the relation of the stitch-receiving groove to the edge of the sole;

Fig. 7 is a detail View, partially in front elevation and partially in section, showing the working parts of the machine in operation upon the margin of a sole;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view looking from the rear of the machine and illustrating particularly the mounting of the feed foot and associated part-s;

Fig. 9 is a View similar to Fig. 7 but showing the operating instrumentalities as they appear when operating upon a sole margin which has been beveled to reduce its thickness;

Fig. 10 is a detail sectional view illustrating the mounting of the feed foot and associated parts; and

Fig. 11 is a detail view in front elevation showing an alternative construction adapted for use in connection with shoes from which the lasts have been removed.

Referring to the drawings, the operating parts of the machine comprise a work-supporting gage roll or disk 14, a reciprocating feed foot 16 a lip-turning tool or plow 18. a grooving knife 20, and a Presser-foot or lipsetting hammer 22.

The gage roll or disk 14 has a sharp peripheral edge 24 formed by the meeting of two beveled faces 26 and 28, and the roll is carried upon a bracket 30 which is fixedly but adjustably mounted on the flanged lower portion of a head 32 that also supports the other operating parts of the machine. The gage roll 14 is adapted to turn idly upon a bearing stud 34 which is disposed with its axis inclined so that the peripheral edge 24 of the roll will project into the crease between the upper and the outsole of a shoe when the shoe is presented bottom up to the machine,

and so that the uppermost portion of the beveled face 26 of the gage roll willengage the projecting margin at the unchanneled side of the sole and support it in a substantially horizontal plane while it is being operated upon by the lip-turning tool and the groove-forming tool. The face 28 of the edge roll is somewhat concaved to conform to the bulge of the shoe upper where it is lasted over the edge of the last bottom to offsetany tendency of the gage roll to open up and wedge itself into the crease between the up per and the sole. In this way the roll is better adapted to gage the location of the groove from the contour of the shoe upper as determined by the contour of the last along the edge of the last bottom. In addition to performing its gaging function, the roll 14 serves to support the sole margin while it is being operated upon. In Fig. 7 a lasted shoe S is shown with the margin of its outsole O supported by the gage roll 14. It will be seen that the concave face 28 of the roll is shaped to engage the bulge of the upper in such a way as effectively to determine the location of the groove in the sole relatively to the location of the edge of the last bottom.

The gage roll 14 is made adjustable transversely with respect to the direction of work feed so that the location of the groove relatively to the edgeof the last bottom may be varied as may be desired. To this end the bracket 30 is dovetailed in a slideway 35 in the head 32 for sliding adjustment transversely of the path of work feed. In order to effect such adjustment of the gage roll conveniently, as well as positively to secure the roll in adjusted position, a stud 86 projects downwardly from the foot of the bracket 30 and extends into a cam slot 38 (Fig. 6) in the hand lever 40 which is pivoted at 42 to the head 32. The cam slot 38 is so designed that, by swinging the hand lever 40, the edge gage roll may be readily adjusted, and there is sufficient friction between the hand lever and the stud 42 to insure that the lever will remain in adjusted position, thus rendering it unnecessary to provide a locking means for mzlrjntaining the adjustment of the edge gage ro The lip-turning tool or plow 18 which opens the channel and turns the channel lip or flap over against the tread face of the sole and the grooving knife 20 which cuts the stitch-receiving groove in the channel, are carried by the reciprocating feed foot 16 the movements of which are alternately toward the front and rear of the machine. The construction and arrangement of the feed foot and the parts carried thereby are such that, on the rearward stroke of the feed foot, the plow and the grooving knife function respectively to turn back a portion of the lip and to cut a corresponding portion of the stitch-receiving groove, while on the forward stroke of the feed foot the work-engaging portion thereof functions to feed the sole toward the front of the machine through a distance equal to the length of the portion of the groove just cut by the grooving knife. During the rearward movement of the feed foot, while the plow and the grooving knife are active, the presserfoot 22 is maintained in lowered position where it co-operates with the edge gage roll 14 to hold the work stationary, while during the forward movement of the feed foot the presser-foot is lifted so as not to interfere with the feeding of the worl The feed foot 16 is carried at the lower end of a slide 48 which is mounted to yield upwardy within'a guideway formed in a carrier 50. The carrier 50 is mounted to oscillate forwardly and rearwardly of the machine so as to move the feed foot, together with the lip-turning tool and the grooving knife, back and forth in the direction of work feed. To this end the upper portion of the carrier 50 is supported upon a pair of alined cone bearings 52 mounted in the head 82. The carrier 50 is oscillated by means of connections with a cam disk 54 upon the main shaft 56 of the machine which is journaled in bearings in the head 32 and is provided with a drivin pulley 58. The connections between the cam disk 54 and the carrier 48 comprise a cam roll 60 which rides in a groove 62 in the cam disk, a crank 64 which carries the cam roll, a second crank 66 which is connected by a tie piece 68 with the crank 64, and a link 70, connecting the crank 66 with the carrier 48. The construction and the mounting of the carrier 48 are substantially the same as those of the carrier for the channel knife slides in the channeling machine disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,023,801, granted April 28, 1912, in the name of F. E. Bertrand, and the arrangement of the connections between the slide 48 and the cam disk 54 are substantially the same as the arrangement of the corresponding parts shown in this patent.

The feed foot slide 48 is adapted to yield upwardly within the carrier 50 against the action of a spring 74 which is confined between a screw 7 6 carried by the upper portion of the carrier and a nut 78 threaded on a post 80 carried by the slide 48. The nut 78 is adapted to engage with shoulders 82 on the carrier 50 to limit the downward movement of the slide 48 under the action of the spring 74. In order that the feed foot, the lip-turning tool and the grooving knife may be raised to facilitate insertion of the work into the machine, a lever 84 is pivoted to the head 32 at 86 and is arranged to engage a stud 88 on the slide 48, and a treadle (not shown) may be connected by means of a treadle rod 90 with the lever 84 so as to operate the lever to raise the slide 48.

The presser-foot 22 is provided with a fiat lower face for flattening the lip and setting it against the face of the sole and for clamping the work against the gage roll 14 so as to hold it stationary between successive feed movements while the plow 18 and the knife 20 are operating. As shown, the presserfoot 22 is mounted upon a slide 94 which is received within a vertical guideway in the head 32 and which is urged downwardly by a. spring 96 and is arranged to be raised against the action of this spring by means of treadle-actuated mechanism indicated generally at 98; The Presser-foot is alternately raised and lowered in timed relation with the back-and-forth movements of the feed foot by means of an eccentric connection 100 between the slide 94 and the main shaft 56. This eccentric connection 100 is substantially the same as the eccentric connection between the work-retainer slide and the main shaft in the machine disclosedin the Letters Patent above referred to, and the mounting of the presserfoot and of the slide 94 as well as the construction of the treadle-actuated presser-foot lifting mechanism 98 is substantially the same as that of corresponding parts associated with the work-retainer slide of the machine disclosed in said Letters Patent.

The feed foot 16 is mounted for adjustment transversely of the direction of work feed upon a feed foot holder 104, and is held rigidly in adjusted position by means of a clamp screw 106 which extends through a slot 108 '(Fig. 7) in the feed foot holder 104 and is threaded into the feed foot. The slot 108 is arranged to permit the desired range of transverse adjustment, while a tongue-and-groove connection 110 prevents angular displacement of the feed foot. The feed foot 16 is serrated on its under side to provide two teeth 112, best shown in Fig. 4, for engagement with the outer or channel side of the leather of the sole, the shape and pitch of the teeth being such as to facilitate gripping engagement of the teeth with the work during the backward or non-feeding stroke of the feed foot.

As shown, the teeth 112 are spaced apart in the direction of work feed and are arranged, as best shown in Fig. 5, to provide clearance space immediately in front of the point or cutting portion of the grooving knife. This arrangement is particularly advantageous when operating upon molded soles having a sharply defined angle at the junction of the shank and forepart, since the presence of this clearance space permits the work to be swung about the point of the grooving knife as a center so as to insure that the groove will be cut full 'depth in passing from the shank to the forepart. In this figure the feed foot, with the lip turning tool and the grooving knife, is shown in two positions, C and D, the position C illustrat' ing the angular position assumed by the feed foot while operating along the shank portion of the sole, while the position D illustrates the angular position of the feed foot as it begins to operate upon the forepart of the sole immediately after the ball line of the sole has passed beneath the feed foot. In this figure also, as well as in the other figures which show the work, the outsole is indicated at O.

In order that the work-engaging portions of the feed foot shall accommodate themselves readily to variations in the longitudinal curvature or inclination of the molded shank portion of the sole, as well as to variations in the pitch or transverse inclination of the sole margin, where said margin is beveled to reduce its thickness as is often the case along the shank portion of the sole, and in order to insure that the lip-turning plow and the grooving knife shall likewise and simultaneously accommodate themselves to variations in lengthwise and crosswise inclination of the sole margin, the feed foot 16 is mounted for free tilting movement about two axes which intersect at the point of the grooving knife so that the tilting adjustment of the feed foot will not affect the cutting of the groove. One axis of tilting movement of the feed foot is indicated at A-A and the other at BB in the several views. Tilting adjustment about the axis AA is permitted by pivot bearings in the form of studs 114 carried by the yoked extremity of the grooving knife holder 104 and having conical ends journaled in a link 116: Tilting adjustment of the feed foot about the axis Bl3 (at right angles to the axis A-A) is permitted by pivot bearings in the form of studs 118 carried by the link 116 and having conicalends journaled in the offset, lower extremity of the feed foot slide 48.

As a shoe is fed to cause the lip-turning and grooving operation to progress along the shank toward the forepart at the side of the shoe first operated upon, the feed foot tilts readily about the axis AA to accommodate itself to the variation in lengthwise curvature or inclination of the sole margin at the ball of the sole, and similarly upon the other side of the shoe the feed foot tilts freely about the axis A-A in passing from the ball to the molded shank portion of the sole. In Fig. 5 the feed foot is shown in two positions of tilting adjustment, one of these positions being that assumed by the feed foot while operating along the shank and the other immediately after the feed foot has reached the ball portion of the sole. In order to facilitate the somewhat sharp tilting of the feed foot about the axis BB to accommodate the foot to the abrupt change in transverse pitch of the shoe margin in passing from a beveled shank portion to an unbeveled margin at the ball line on the side of the shoe first operated upon, a cable 120, one end of which is secured to the link 116, passes over a pulley 122 and may be secured at its opposite end to a foot treadle (not shown), whereby the cable may be operated to swing the link upwardly. At the opposite side of the shoe, in passing from the unbeveled forepart to the beveled shank portion, the force of gravity will be sufiicient to insure that the feed foot will adjust itself to the variations in transverse pitch of the sole margin.

The lip-turning tool or plow 18, as best shown in Fig. 3, comprises a depending por tion 128 shaped to raise the lip of a sole to a substantially upright position and a laterally ofi'set portion 130 shaped to turn the lip inwardly and downwardly toward the face of the sole. As shown, the lip-engaging surface of the portion 128 curves upwardly and gradually merges with the curved surface at the lower side of the portion 130 so that the lip is raised and turned backwardly in a continuous operation. In order that the lipt-urning tool shall accommodate itself to the surface contour of the sole margin in passing over the sharp angle at the ball line of a mold ed sole, the tool is mounted to yield upwardly relatively to the feed foot 16. To this end, as best shown in Fig. 8, the lip-turning tool is provided with a laterally offset portion 132 carrying a stem 134 which is slidable within abore in a block 136 carried by the feed foot holder 104. A spring 138 seated in a recess in the block 136 and engaging the offset portion 132 of the lip-turning tool, urges the latter downwardly and permits it to yield upwardly, as above described. A pin 140 carried by the stem 134 is arranged to engage the upper surface of the block 136 to limit the downward movement of the lip-turning tool under the influence of the spring 138. The block 136 which carries the lip-turning tool 18 is secured to the feed foot holder 114 by means of the clamp screw 106 hereinbefore referred to, and to provide for adjustment of the tool 18 relatively to the grooving knife in the direction of work feed an elongated slot 142 is provided in the block 136 to receive the binding screw 106.

The grooving knife 20 (Fig. 7 is of the usual tubular form and is carried by a holder 146 which is secured to the side of the feed foot 16. The tubular grooving knife is externally threaded and is screwed into a socket in the holder 146. By turning the grooving knife the extent of projection of its cutting edge below the feed foot may be varied for the purpose of varying the depth of the groove to be formed in the work. A lock nut 148 is provided for securing the grooving knife in adjusted position within the block 146.

Fig. 11 shows an alternative form of construction adapting the machine for operation upon the soles of shoes after the lasts have been removed. As shown in this figure, a stationary work supporting and guiding member 150 is provided for engaging the margin of the inner sole and adjacent portion at the inside of the shoe upper. (lo-operating with the stationary member 150 in guiding the shoe is a gage roll 152 arranged to ride along the crease between the outer surface of the upper and the outsole. In order that the gage roll 152 may yield relatively to the member 150 it is carried by an arm 154 which is pivoted at 156 to a fixed port-ion of the machine frame and a spring 158 is arranged to act upon an extension 160 of the arm 154 so as to urge the roller 152 toward the member 150. By the co-operation of the gage roll 152 with the supporting and guiding member 150 the location of the stitchreceiving groove in the outsole is gaged from the contour of the shoe upper. Thus, as in the form of the machine hereinbefore described, the location of the stitch-receiving groove is independent of the marginal contour of the sole.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the Unitel States is:

1. That improvement in methods of shoemaking which consists in turning the channel lip to open the channel of a channeled sole attached to a shoe, setting the lip in turned position, and forming a stitch-receiving groove in the channeled portion of the sole in a location gaged from the contour of the shoe upper.

2. That improvement in methods of shoemaking which consists in opening the channel of a channeled sole attached to a shoe, turning the channel lip over against the surface of the sole inside the channel, setting the lip in said turned over position, and forming a stitch-receiving groove in the channel in a location gaged from the contour of the shoe upper.

3. That improvement in methods of shoemaking which consists in operating step-bystep along the lip of a channeled sole attached to a shoe to turn the lip and form a stitch-receiving groove within the channel, and operating between the steps of lip turning movement to set the lip in turned position.

t. That improvement in methods of shoemaking which consists in feeding step-bystep a channeled sole attached to a shoe, and operating between successive steps of feed movement to turn the lip and set it in turned position and to form a stitch-receiving groove in the channeled portion of the sole.

5. That improvement in methods of shoem'aking which consists in turning step-bystep the lip of a channeled sole attached to a shoe, holding the sole stationary between successive steps of lip turning forming a stitchreceiving groove in the channeled portion of the sole, and flattening the channel lip against the face of the sole while the sole is held stationary.

6. That improvement in methods of shoemaking which consists in opening the channel of a channeled outsole secured to a shoe and turning the channel lip over against the surface of the sole inside the channel, setting the lip in turned position, and forming a stitch-receiving groove in the channeled portion of the outsole in a location gaged from the contour of the shoe upper.

7 That improvement in methods of shoemaking which consists in feeding a shoe having a channeled outsole temporarily secured thereto in a manner progressively to advance secured in assembled relation to the margin of the sole past an operating position while gaging the location of said position from the contour of the shoe upper, turning the channel lip and setting it in turned position, and forming a stitch-receiving-groove in the channel.

8. That improvement in methods of shoe making which consists in feeding a shoe having a channeled outsole temporarily secured thereto, step-by-step past an operating position while gaging said position from the contour of the shoe upper, turning the channel lip and setting it in turned position, and forming a stitch-receiving groove in the channel in successive increments occurring during the intervals between successive feed movements.

9. In a machine of the class described, means for entering the crease between the margin of a channeled sole and the upper of a shoe to which the sole has been temporarily secured in assembled relation to support the sole margin and locate it in position to be operated upon, and means for turning the channel lip, setting it in turned position, and for forming a groove in the channeled portion of the sole margin while the sole margin is thus supported :and located to prepare it for the reception of stitches for permanently attaching the sole to the shoe.

-10. In a machine of the class described, an idle roll having a peripheral portion shaped and arranged to enter the crease between the margin of a channeled sole and the upper of a shoe to which the sole has been temporarily secured in assembled relation to support the sole margin and to locate it in position to be operated upon, a feed member arranged to engage the unsupported surface ofthe sole margin to feed the shoe, and means for forming a stitch-receiving groove in the ,chan

neled portion of the sole margin while the shoe is supported and positioned by said roll.

11. In a'machine of the class described, a device for entering the crease between the margin of a sole and the upper of a shoe to which a channeled sole has been temporarily support the sole margin byengagement with its unchanneled surface and to locate the sole margin in osition to be 0 erated u on a feed member P 7 arranged to engage the channeled surface of the sole margin to feed the shoe, said member being self adjustable to variations in both longitudinal and cross-wise inclination of said surface of the sole margin, and means on the feed member for opening the channel and forming a stitch-receiving groove in the sole margin while the shoe is supported and positioned by said device.

12. In a machine of the class described, means for supporting the margin of a channeled outsole secured by temporary fastening means in assembled relation with the shoe and for locating the sole margin in position to be operated upon, a reciprocating feed foot arranged to engage the unsupported surface of the sole margin and mounted for self adjustment to variations in inclination of said surface, channel lip turning and grooveforming tools carried by the feed foot, and means for moving the feed foot in one direction to feed the work and in another direction to cause the lip turning and grooveforming tools to operate respectively to turn the channel lip and form a stitch-receiving groove in the channeled portion of the sole margin.

13. In a machine of the class described, means for supporting the margin of a channeled outsole secured by temporary fastening means in assembled relation with the shoe and for locating the sole margin in position to be operated upon, means for engaging the unsupported surface of the sole margin, and lip-turning and groove-forming tools mounted for simultaneous adjustment to accommodate variations in inclination of said surface.

14. In a machine of the class described, means for supporting the margin of a channeled outsole secured in assembled relation with a shoe and locating the outsole in position to be operated upon, a reciprocating feed foot for engaging the unsupported surface of the sole margin, means for reciprocating the feed foot to cause it to feed the work while moving in one direction, means for holding the work stationary during movements of the feed foot in the opposite direction, and means carried by the feed foot and operative during the non-feeding movements of the latter to turn the channel flap, set it in turned position, and to form a stitch-receiving groove in the channeled portion of the sole margin.

15. In a machine of the class described, means for supporting the margin of a channeled outsole secured in assembled relation with a shoe and locating the sole margin in position to be operated upon, a feed foot for engaging the unsupported surface of the sole margin, means for reciprocating the feed foot to move it alternately through feeding and non-feeding strokes, means carried by the feed foot and operative during the nonfeeding strokes of the latter for turning the channel flap and forming a stitch-receiving groove in the channel, and means operative between the feeding strokes of the feed foot for setting the channel flap in turned position and holding the work stationary While the lip-turning and groove-forming means are operating.

16. In a machine of the class described, means for engaging the upper of a shoe having an outsole temporarily secured in assembled relation therewith to locate the margin of the sole in position to be operated upon, a feed member for engaging the outer side of the sole margin to feed the sole, means carried by the feed member for forming a stitch-receiving groove in the sole margin, and a mounting for the feed member constructed and arranged to tilt in the direction of work feed to enable the feed foot to accommodate itself to changes in longitudinal curvature or inclination of the sole margin.

17. In a machine of the class described, means for engaging the upper of a shoe having an outsole temporarily secured in assembled relation therewith to locate'the margin of the sole in position to be operated upon, a feed member for engaging the outerside of the sole margin to feed the sole, means carried by the feed member for form ing a stitch-receiving groove in the sole margin, and a mounting for the feed member constructed and arranged to tilt about an axis extending transverse to the direction of work feed to enable the feed member to accommodate itself to variations in crosswise inclination of the sole margin.

18. In a machine of the class described, means for engaging. the upper of a shoe having an outsole temporarily secured in assembled relation therewith to locate the margin of the sole in position to be operated upon, a feed member for engaging the outer side of the sole margin to feed the sole, means carried by the feed member for forming a stitch-receiving groove in the sole margin, and a universal mounting for the feed member adapting it to tilt both lengthwise and crosswise of. the direction of work feed to accommodate itself to variations in lengthwise and crosswise inclination of the sole margin.

19. In a machine of the class described, means for engaging the upper of a shoe having an outsole temporarily secured in assembled relation therewith to locate the margin of the sole in position to be operated upon, a feed member for engaging the outer side of the sole margin to feed the sole, means carried by the feed member for forming a stitch-receiving groove in the sole margin, a mounting for the feed member constructed and arranged to tilt about an axis extending transverse to the direction of work feed to enable the feed member to accommodate itself to variations in crosswise inclination of the sole margin, and means for facilitating the tilting movement of the feed device in one direction.

20. In a machine of the class described, means for engaging the upper ofa shoe having an outsole temporarily secured in assembled relation therewith to locate the margin of the sole in position to be operated upon, a feed member for engaging the outer side of the sole margin to feed the sole, a grooving tool carried by the feed member for forming a stitch-receiving groove in the sole margin, and a mounting for the feed member constructed and arranged for free tilting adjustment about axes extending respectively lengthwise and crosswise of the direction of work feed and intersecting at the operative portion of the grooving tool.

21. In a machine of the class described, means for engaging the upper of a shoe to locate the margin of a channeled outsole secured in assembled relation With the shoe in position to be operated upon, a reciprocating feed foot for engaging the outer side of the sole margin, means for moving the feed foot in one direction to feed the Work and in the opposite direction to return the feed foot to starting position, a plow yieldingly mounted on the feed foot for opening the channel, and a grooving knife carried by the feed foot for forming a stitch-receiving groove in the channel after it has been opened.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

FREDERIO E. BERTRAND. 

